When the lights go out at the First United Bank Center May 29, the stage collapsed, the programs swept up, and the purple gowns hung up for good, a long and exhausting race will have reached its finale, and new graduates Macy Wright and Ty Crenshaw will have come out on top.

Wright finished the fifth six weeks with a GPA of 102.6 and will graduate valedictorian for 2015. She established her valedictory goal in elementary school.

“When I was in fourth grade, my cousin graduated, and she told me she thought I was going to be valedictorian,” Wright said. “At that time I didn’t know what a valedictorian was. When I was ranked number one after freshman year, it entered my mind that it would be cool to be the valedictorian.”

Wright filled the number one spot in her class for most of her high school career, spending only one semester behind Crenshaw.

“I was number one freshman and sophomore years,” Wright said. “At the end of junior year Ty was ahead of me, but after fall semester of this year I was ahead of him by four hundredths of a point.”

Both Wright and Crenshaw took many Pre-AP and AP classes in order to stay at the top academically. Wright has taken five AP classes this year and said the commitment has cost her sleep, but has been worth it.

“I have just worked hard through all of high school,” Wright said. “There wasn’t really a time I didn’t. I just did the best I could, and it turned out how it turned out.”

Besides minimal sleeping and strenuous studying, Wright also serves as the secretary of Key Club and the vice president of National Honor Society as well as a percussionist in the band.

“Know that your GPA is your entire high school career, so don’t blow off those classes freshman year because you can’t really fix it once you’re a senior,” Wright said. “But get involved in other stuff too. Do things besides study and sleep.”

Wright plans to attend Baylor University and major in chemistry for pre-pharmacy before applying to pharmacy school.

“All the hard work has paid off,” Wright said. “I’m really honored to be the representation of our class as the valedictorian.”

Crenshaw finished the fifth six weeks with a GPA of 102.3 and will graduate as salutatorian. He said he wasn’t concerned about placing first or second for most of high school.

“I have tried to challenge myself with as many pre-AP and AP classes as I can, and I’ve just done anything the teachers tell us to do in those classes to succeed,” Crenshaw said. “I just followed their advice and the advice of my parents and worked as hard as I could whenever I could. I just wanted to do the best I could do, and I think I did.”

Aside from all the AP classes, Crenshaw played varsity football and basketball and participated in the One-Act play, National Honor Society, FOR Club and student council, for which he was an officer during the past school year.

“Getting good grades in your classes helps with college applications, but everybody knows that,” Crenshaw said. “One thing I don’t think as many people know is getting involved in things that require leadership skills or service of some sort really helps. Besides just getting admitted, it helps with scholarships and financing your education.”

Crenshaw said the involvement keeps his schedule busy and causes some interesting venues for homework and studying, such as the movie theater.

“I had to do homework while waiting for movies to start, like I did at the new Avengers movie, and sometimes while hanging out with friends,” Crenshaw said. “One time I even had to do it while I was eating at Buffalo Wild Wings. That last one got a little messy.”

Crenshaw plans to attend Texas A&M University and major in engineering. His interest in the university began when his older sister attended several years ago.

“I went to visit A&M when my sister was there, and I liked it a whole lot,” Crenshaw said. “I visited some of the academic areas and went to one of the football games. I had a great time.”

As graduation approaches, Crenshaw said finishing as salutatorian made all the sleep loss, inconveniently located homework sessions, and hard work worth it.

“It’s better than I thought it would be when I was an underclassman,” Crenshaw said. “Hard work in anything is never a bad thing. It can only make you better.”